Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

49 reviews

framedflower's review

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

krisalexcole's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Grief

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Blood, Abortion, and Abandonment

thecriticalreader's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I chose Sign Here as one of my Book of the Month Choices because I was intrigued by the author’s conception of hell. 

 

 

Plot: 3/5

The plot of Sign Here got very convoluted very quickly, but it kept pulling me along with its intrigue. I could not put it down. The book follows two loosely connected storylines: one is the story of Peyote, a damned soul who goes to Earth to get more humans to sign their souls away, and the other is the story of the Harrison family on summer vacation. The Harrison family plotline fits the domestic thriller mold, whereas Peyote’s storyline involves more fantasy elements. Peyote’s storyline was more interesting to follow because of the afterlife setting and his ability to jump through time and space, but its conclusion was on the weaker side because it did not connect that well to the Harrison storyline. Peyote’s relationship with his coworker Cal ended up being too confusing and disjointed from the main story to work with the novel as a whole. The Harrison storyline had a satisfying, if rather run-of-the-mill, domestic thriller conclusion. 

 

Characters: 3/5

I found the side characters in hell, such as the obnoxious egomaniac fratboy Trey and the micromanaging boss K, to be highly entertaining caricatures of douchebags most people know in real life. I wish that Lux had included more of such characters in the book. Peyote and Cal remained rather elusive, but this was by design: living in hell for millennia is meant to strip someone of their personal identity. It was interesting to see Peyote and Cal navigate their relationship when neither was sure if they could trust each other—or themselves. 

 

The characters in the Harrison storyline were interesting enough. They weren’t the most complex or fleshed-out characters I have ever read, but they had enough personality and motivation to keep the story going. 

 

Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.5/5

The setting of hell was deeply entertaining. I loved learning about all of the ways the upper levels of hell managed to make their occupants miserable: the bars only serve Jägermeister, the only music you have access to is music you hated while you were alive, puddles appear randomly and at varying depths, etc. I also thought the premise of “rising through the ranks” in hell to be interesting, as it became a self-perpetuating system of damnation. 

 

I wish that Lux had dug a little deeper into the Hell lore. I walked away with a lot of questions, some of which were based in curiosity and others which addressed potential plot holes. Is there a Heaven in this universe? How old does someone have to be to sign away their soul? (surely it would be easy to get a bunch of children to sign their souls away). Why does Hell have a loophole? The more I thought about the worldbuilding, the sloppier it seemed.

 

Themes: 3.5/5

The book’s central question was whether humanity and goodness can persevere in literal Hell. I enjoyed how creatively Lux addressed and answered the question. The domestic thriller portion of the book dealt with the standard domestic thriller themes of family secrets and revenge. 

 

Writing Style: 3.5/5

I enjoyed Lux’s writing style. It was easy to read and kept me on the edge of my seat. 

 

Conclusion:

The creative premise of Sign Here and its fun, page-turning execution made it an enjoyable read in the moment. Upon more intense reflection, however, weaknesses in the worldbuilding and plot start to show. 

 

Other Points:

·      Some people have complained that Sign Here feels like two completely separate books smashed into one. I did not mind this while I was reading it, but I have to agree with them.

·      One of the main characters engages in the sexualization of a fourteen-year-old child, which became extremely uncomfortable. I think the author tried to frame it as more of a weird coping mechanism than blatant pedophilia, but that didn’t really help much—especially since the incident is sort of brushed off. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

ksuazo94's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Grief, and Murder

mondovertigo's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Torture

Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder

blackcatkai's review

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

CW: alcohol/drug use, death, self harm, gun violence, pregnancy, gaslighting, infidelity, body shaming/fatphobia, eating disorder mentioned, torture, cancer mentioned, cults, religious bigotry, child abuse, blood, violence, some body horror, casual ableism, suicide mentioned.

i had a lot of fun with this one. it's funny, at times uncomfortable, and wholly entertaining. it had a couple small twists towards the end that i both wasn't expecting but thoroughly enjoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

blissofalife's review

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

If you like putting together the puzzle pieces, this is the book for you! I thought the ending was a bit rushing and lacking the narration of the rest of the book, but a satisfying end nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ofpagesandparagraphs's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Self harm, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death

wai's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I figured I would like this book, but it still really surprised me. A lot of twists and turns that I thought I had figured out but turned out to be wrong about. It keeps you guessing until the end. With very intriguing world building around Hell and selling your soul, and dark humor, it's worth the read if this is your thing. Please mind the content warnings as it does contain many triggering concepts and descriptions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia and Pregnancy

tspice24's review

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Self harm, and Pregnancy